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JimCricket writes "A new kind of record company, Tailored Music Group, is selling user-customizable songs. Each song is distributed in its 'default' (generic) form, and the customer can change any (or all) of the lyrics. For a few hundred bucks, the original indie musician will re-work the song with the custom lyrics. Neat idea."

I wouldn't be all that surprised if changes like that were requested, though I'm sure there's an approval process for the custom lyrics. I doubt they're going to perform just any old stuff.

Like your other reply said, another major group that would be interested is advertisers, but I wouldn't be surprised if changes that advertised products would be denied as well to keep the song at least semi-legitimate.

Hey, it's musicians making money, and I'm all for that. At least they're not recording an album of their lives' work for some label that gives them a 5000 dollar advance against future earnings and then touring for a year all so that they can end up owing the record company money and not even owning their own songs. Oh, and I've forgotten, even if they've sold 150,000 records, the label tells them they've lost a bundle and now they have to sell their instruments so they can give the 5k advance back.

No, I give these guys credit for at least being a little creative about making a living as musicians. It's really not all about fame.

And no, thats not asterisk bashing. One thing can all agree on - the asterisk rocks, and I absolutely refuse to accept any other input on the subject, as my opinion is final, and anyone who disagrees is an idiot.

Coincidentally, someone also wrote a book like this that looks at the incredible stupidity of the music industry and today's youth. It also features the a lot templates you are talking about. Except you don't have to pay anything to steal the lyrics (well, except buying the book)...

(damn HTML formatting)
This is a little song I wrote about an ex:
My baby done left me and my heart ain't gonna never gonna be the same.
Oh dearest customers, it ain't been the same since you went away.
You stole my music, and my monopoly is broken.
Yours,
RIAA

But most people doing this, especially at parties, are absolutely pathetic at it. This way you can get someone who CAN sing to do it...
Maybe not a couple of hundred dollars though, particularly if they're American (it still beats the Aussie dollar, though we're catching up).

Don't knock them for trying, I say. It's about time a music group tried to use the internet for something new.

So let me get this straight: They're going to write some generic song, and then I'm going to come in and write a better version--doing their job for them, basically--and then, instead of getting a piece of the royalties, I'm going to pay them a couple hundred dollars to perform my version of their song?

Well, if you payed a few hundred bucks to do that, you've been ripped off. I know some street artists (as in they sit on busy streets or fairs, markets, whatever) that will do it for 20 in 10 minutes.Not that I don't like that they're charging you, hey you paid for it, but there are a bunch of GOOD artists out there that live of smaller contributions. I've been in art school and I know a few artists personally, but unless the artist has a special skill or technique to it that makes it unique or unless it is

You do realize that for those few hundred dollars you get the ORIGINAL ARTISTS singing the song?
Look, if you could pay $500 bucks to get the still living Beatles to record a version of "Hey Jude" using your name, wouldn't you do it?
I would pay that much cash in an instant, and declare it my 'theme song'.
Play it my birthday, etc.

Just in case there's anyone out there that thinks this will get them laid, be warned - she'll likely laugh you out of the room and reject you with extreme prejudice. If she doesn't, be warned again - she's too desperate to get involved with.

Seriously though, this has to be one of the lamest ideas I've ever heard of. I know as little about women as the next guy (and I'm married), but I do know they can smell assembly line romance from a mile away - and they hate it.

"I do know they can smell assembly line romance from a mile away"
Too true, but I dare you to do nothing on the conveyor belt that is valentines day.
Soon it may well be, roses, chocolate, dinner AND a song.

"Too true, but I dare you to do nothing on the conveyor belt that is valentines day."

That's why you break up with them just before Valentine's day.

Wait a bit, and get back with her afterwards....you then can miss having to buy her stuff and go through the 'crap'....and yet you will most likely still collect YOUR gift from her, as that most women buy gifts far in advance of the holiday in question.

My most successful Valentine's day ever didn't involved doing nothing, but it did involve doing none of the things that we're told we should do. We got some beers and sushi to take home, then spent the evening consuming them and watching porn (and having sex, of course). She loved it, precisely because it wasn't "production-line romance".

First of all: if you want your hit - start write on it yourself! A song can't be better then that you express your on feelings with your own lyrics/melody/harmony.
Secondly: I don't want to hear e.g. exactly the same melody/harmony with different lyrics all the time on my radio (which happens with music 'hits' anyway now and then..).

Pity most settle for the red guitar, 3 chords and incoherent drug induced crapola. (Not saying that about Bono. He actually comes across as an intelligent guy in interviews and seems to have some kind of grip on issues like the envrionment...who knows if it's all part of the act or not though).

What's the problem with three chords? Here's the deal: if you've got song that stays in a given key, you only need three chords. Consider the key of C Major- it's got the following pitch collection: {C, D, E, F, G, A, B}. As a songwriter, you've got to create a harmony for the melody. That generally means that you have to match up appropriate chords to the melody.

A simple way of thinking about how chords are built is that they use the pitch collection, but they skip over every other note. So if you starte

Ultimately configurable, you can get a billion pop songs from it. The world's top hits have been made using it. It's called AlphaBet (TM) and I'll sell you it for only 19.99, send to the address below...

For once, TFA has nothing to do with the "piracy" of music or the RIAA or any of the news that we associate with digital music lately.

It's some musicians with a few mediocre tracks providing a service to those sentimental enough for a customized song. Admit it, most people (read: women) are suckers for sweet songs with their names in it. They've realized that their product isn't going to bring in the cash, so they have taken what they've got and are reselling it as a personalized service. If they'd had a few more buzzword-loving execs, they'd be calling it Music 2.0.

This is nothing new. Since 50-60s, jamaican soundsystems aka dj's have been recording customized versions of hit tunes that are unique to them in one way or the other. Either the lyrics have been changed, tune is recorded to different background or both. Since then, this type of recorded custom music has moved to different genres and is very typical also in electronic music like drumnbass and such types which have influences from caribbean music. Dj's use to outshine other because they can play tunes that other dj's dont have.

There's a also a sort of a "sport" revolving around this phenomenon and its called soundclash. 2 different dj's or dj groups "battle" against each other with custom tunes..

Back in the 80's, so many people were starting bands and had their own 4-track cassette that record companies started releasing singles in the single sided 4 track cassette format. You could just play it as was or you could remix it to your hearts content.

Those of you who listen to African, and particularly Congolese music are familiar with that scheme. Songs are peppered with praise for individuals who paid for it. Actually it is so big that some artists pre-finance their albums production that way ! It is like embedding advertising in the songs. In a country where piracy makes album sales almost irrelevant, live performance and embedded advertising are important ways to make money.

Look at the extended editions of lord of the rings movies - people paid to get their names in the credits. Personally, not my thing, but considering just how long those credit rolls go for, obviously A LOT of people thought it was valuable to them.

When artistic concerns are overshadowed by the need to please one's patron, art suffers.

Tell that to Mozart. And Handel. And Beethoven. And Wagner. And...

Much of the fantastic music that makes up our collective cultural heritage came from patronage. In fact, this continues today. Music which is not written on order for a customer is by far the minority of all music.

So basically, if Slashdot gets its wet dream of a new kind of recording industry business model based around P2P, this is what they'll have to look forward to in the future: adverts in music, as it's the only real way to make money.

but only for unsigned singers whose popularity is through their websites. That way if they have a few hundred dedicated fans maybe 10 of them will pay to get a love song changed to have their name in it for example and that'd earn the musician a few thousand $ as long as their fanbase is big enough.

I'm amazed at all the negative comments on this. The idea is a clever one, it's directly innovative, and for the right occasion, a very good product.Think about weddings, anniversaries and the like. What a cool gift for that special someone?

This is another step down the road to the infinitely personalized marketplace, which is a BIG trend with vast potential impact. In this particular case, it doesn't scale particularly well, but just like customized Nikes, this is a way for you as a "consumer" to be mor

Who will now find a way to copywright a song's framework thus making all derivitives under copyright. Then, they will look for a way to retro-actively go after Janet Jackson for putting her own lyrics to the music of "Ventura Highway".

"Song Poem usually refers to song lyrics which have been set to music for a fee. This practice, which has long been disparaged in the music industry, was also known as song sharking and was conducted by several businesses throughout the 20th century in North America.

Typically, the service was promoted through small display ads in popul

Now, I can finally have *real* songs with lyrics such as "Hold me closer, Tony Danza...", "Wrapped up like a douche..." and all the other misheard lyrics that are much better than the originals. Maybe I could have them actually transcribe Pearl Jam's song lyrics as mumbles, the way they are sung!

Frank Zappa produced an album done by Wild Man Fisher. He was originally a street performer and would write a unique sing for anyone for a dollar. Several instances of him doing just that were on the album, along with some studio work with Zappa backing him up. Superbly weird. Your own song for a buck (with a Zappa stamp of approval) is better than a morphed song no matter how much.

One more nail in the coffin of creativity. However I believe that this system was already created in a more free (as in beer) form... I think they called it the blues. Everyone uses the same three chords and just comes up with their own lyrics.

This isn't quite the innovation some people seem to think of it as. This has been done a few times in the past (I can't for the life of me remember any of the names or find links (sorry)) and hasn't really ever done well. Expect to see some spam from time to time in your favorite music related forums (if you have any of those) and then not hear from them again.

The concept is ancient.. this has probably been going on thousands of years. When computers can blurt out out perfect-enough simulated singing the whole process is easily automated. The technology exists, but it's not convincing enough just yet (I'd say it's comparable to the authencity of a computer created fashion model). One of the strongest moments for me in 1984 was when the innocent old lady whose house the main character resided in sung to the tune of an algorithmically created pop-song, thus living

They were selling Veggietales CDs at a local mall. And the first track was happy birthday.If you could find your child's name on the list, then they could burn you a CD with the veggies singing happy birthday to your kid. Kinda neat.